Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

We moved into a new house in Fayetteville TN, and within 5 months, our 21 year old daughter was bitten by a Brown recluse. She reacted with a golf ball sized black circle of dead tissue that turned to ooze over the next 2 months. It has left a nasty scar and may require a tissue graft. The cost ran well over 1000$ even before counting future grafts. It was the worst pain she has ever felt as the tissue slowly died and turned to jelly. It was really terrifying as she ran a fever and threw up which is somewhat rare and a pretty heavy reaction. Our younger daughter reacts even worse to insect bites so we were/are very worried. I am an engineer so I did significant methodical web research and settled on these traps. We set out 10 or so of these traps downstairs. Over the next month we caught 9 recluses (as well as 30 other assorted bugs). Sadly - we have been catching 2 to 1 harmless wolf spiders over recluses (edit: One of the other reviewers said wolf spiders do bite - go figure). These traps seem to work really well. We set more in the master bedroom and caught another 8 - one was by my headboard, two were next to shoe trees. 4 were right by my wife's dresser. It's like a horror movie. Needless to say, this whole ordeal has gotten our attention in a big way. I am on a mission to vacuum crevices with a shop vac and then silicone up any hiding places. We are throwing away a ton of stuff and sorting a number of boxes we carried for years. I didn't realize I was in the Brown Recluse belt (or even what they looked like) - but now I have learned what a problem they are in my part of the country. Sadly - no more peacefully co-existing with spiders as I was taught as a youngster. These spiders are not aggressive - but if they happen to get in your clothing or your bed, you are likely to suffer a really nasty bite. Even with two German Shepherds (constantly shedding hair) - these traps stay good for over a month. Our house is very dusty as we aren't regular vacuum users - but I was pleasantly surprised at the longevity of the traps. The recluses seem to mainly come down to take a peek when a beetle or other bug is trapped, then they are trapped. I am a believer in these traps (and really don't like poisons) and am ordering another 180 so we can rotate them through multiple rooms. It seems to be one of the few effective weapons in our battle. They aren't real attractive (not sure what would be) and they don't stick on all walls or ceilings well and seem most effective at ground level. Note that while we have caught 20+ Recluses in the house over 3 months - we have never seen one inside the house outside a trap (edit: Not true now... as we have become more conscious of where they are we see them - mainly playing dead or moving slowly)! I have seen a number in my WoodShop in the wild as I moved around old plywood etc. It is the next target (edit: HUGE number of them... I think it is a lost cause to exterminate them, but I will make it safer). Edit: I insulated and sealed my garage, sheetrocked and caulked EVERYTHING so it is darn near airtight. Put down epoxy floors and surprisingly, they come in from outside and crawl around the garage door seals (they actually had a nest IN the old garage door seal). These traps catch them as they come in as they are strategically placed around doors and walls. ----------- update - 7/5/2012 I continue to use these traps. Sadly, I had more spiders than I thought in all my outbuildings and in my house. I have caught well over 200 recluses in the house over the last 2 years. No one else has been bitten and we are methodical shoe shakers now. Just ordered another 180 traps.